Document text
Principal Investigator: Andrea L. Roberts
Organization: HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Fiscal Year: 2020
Award: $574,134
Funding agency: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
PROJECT SUMMARY
Children of women exposed to childhood abuse exhibit increased risk for a wide array of neurodevelopmental
deficits and are at elevated risk of anxiety, depression, autism, and attention deficit disorder (ADHD). The
parent grant seeks to identify biological dysregulation during pregnancy that may cause this increased risk.
Inflammation and hormonal dysregulation harms offspring neurodevelopment and is present in adults who
have experienced childhood abuse, yet it is unknown whether dysregulation in these systems continues during
the pregnancies of women exposed to abuse, the critical time for effects on offspring brains. The parent grant
collects biological samples during pregnancy to measure inflammation and hormonal dysregulation in a large,
prospective cohort of women. Women with histories of childhood abuse experience more stressors during
pregnancy, and Aim 2 of the parent grant posits that these stressors may partially account for pregnancy
biological dysregulation. In this administrative supplement, we propose to augment the study to capture key
and time sensitive data on the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesize that pandemic-related adverse events
and stress will be more common in women exposed to child abuse and will increase risk for biological
dysregulation during pregnancy that is harmful to offspring development. Adverse events during pregnancy
and psychological reactions to them have been linked to pregnancy complications, prematurity, low birth
weight, and offspring neurodevelopmental deficits. Vulnerable populations, including women exposed to
childhood abuse, are likely to experience more of these adverse events and be more negatively impacted by
them. Forecasting models suggest that in the absence of a vaccine, SARS-CoV-2 is likely to continue
circulating for the foreseeable future, highlighting the urgent need for robust research on the long-term health
effects of the pandemic on pregnant women and their offspring. Participants enrolled via the parent award are
members of the Nurses' Health Study 3, and most are clinically active, thus this study has the advantage of
having direct access to a large population with high risk of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2. At the same
time, they are vulnerable to healthcare sector downsizing and job loss, making the cohort ideal for studying the
effects of pandemic-related stressors on pregnancy and birth outcomes. The supplement will collect data on
COVID-19-related adverse events and COVID-19-related stress at both pre-pregnancy and pregnancy,
including fear of infection, financial stress, pandemic-related depression, parenting stress, and illness and
death of loved ones. This research will address the NICHD's core mission to ensure that “all children have the
chance to achieve their full potential for healthy and productive lives” by identifying factors, “starting before
conception, [that] can influence development across the life course and across generations.”
Terms: <0-11 years old><0-4 weeks old><2019 novel coronavirus><2019-nCoV><21+ years old><Address><Administrative Supplement><Adult><Adult Human><Adverse Experience><Adverse event><Affect><Antibodies><Anxiety><Assay><Attention Deficit Disorder><Autism><Autistic Disorder><Award><Bioassay><Biologic Assays><Biological><Biological Assay><Biological Markers><Birth><Blood><Blood Reticuloendothelial System><Brain><Brain Nervous System><COVID><COVID-19><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID19><COVID19 epidemic><COVID19 pandemic><Cessation of life><Child><Child Abuse><Child Development><Child Rearing><Child Youth><Childhood Abuse><Children (0-21)><Clinical><CoV disease><Collection><Conceptions><Data><Data Collection><Death><Development><Dysfunction><EPH Gestosis><Early Infantile Autism><Economics><Encephalon><Endocrine><Enrollment><Ensure><Exhibits><Exposure to><Fear><Female of child bearing age><Female of childbearing age><Financial Hardship><Fright><Functional disorder><Future><Generations><Gestation><HPA axis><HPT axis><Health><Health Care Sector><Healthcare Sector><History><Hormonal><Impairment><Infant and Child Development><Infantile Autism><Infection><Inflammation><Jobs><Kanner's Syndrome><Life Cycle><Life Cycle Stages><Link><Loneliness><Low Birth Weight Infant><Maternal Exposure><Maternal and Child Health><Measures><Mental Depression><Mission><Modeling><NICHD><National Institute of Child Health and Human Development><National Institute of Children's Health and Human Development><Neural Development><Neurodevelopmental Deficit><Newborn Infant><Newborns><Nurses' Health Study><Occupational Exposure><Occupations><Outcome><Parenting><Parenting behavior><Parents><Participant><Parturition><Physiopathology><Population><Pre-Eclampsia><Preeclampsia><Pregnancy><Pregnancy Complications><Pregnancy Toxemias><Pregnant Women><Premature Birth><Prematurely delivering><Preterm Birth><Professional Positions><Prospective cohort><Proteinuria-Edema-Hypertension Gestosis><Reaction><Recording of previous events><Recrudescences><Research><Research Specimen><Risk><Risk Factors><SARS-CoV-2><SARS-CoV2><SARS-associated coronavirus 2><SARS-coronavirus-2><SARS-related coronavirus 2><Sampling><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2><Severities><Severity of illness><Social isolation><Specimen><Stress><Symptoms><System><Testing><Time><Vaccines><Viral><Viral Diseases><Virus Diseases><Vulnerable Populations><Woman><Wuhan coronavirus><adulthood><adverse event risk><autism spectrum disorder><autistic spectrum disorder><bio-markers><biologic marker><biomarker><childrearing><children><childrens'><cohort><complications during pregnancy><corona virus disease><corona virus disease 2019><corona virus disease 2019 epidemic><corona virus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease><coronavirus disease 2019><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><depression><design><designing><developmental><disease severity><enroll><expectant mother><expecting mother><experience><financial burden><financial distress><financial strain><financial stress><high risk><hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis><hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis><hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis><hypothalmus-pituitary-adrenal axis><life course><lonely><loved ones><low birth weight><low birth weight infant human><low birthweight><member><neurodevelopment><neurodevelopment effect><neurodevelopmental effect><newborn child><newborn children><offspring><pandemic><pandemic disease><parent grant><pathophysiology><pregnancy toxemia/hypertension><pregnancy-related complications><pregnant mothers><premature><premature childbirth><premature delivery><prematurity><prenatal intervention><prepregnancy><preterm delivery><prospective><psychologic><psychological><public health intervention><response><stressor><viral infection><virus infection><virus-induced disease><vulnerable group><women of child bearing age><women of childbearing age><workplace exposure><youngster>